Four suspected Taliban militants were detained and several killed in the operation that targeted a senior Taliban commander responsible for organizing bombings and rocket attacks against security forces, officials said.

In Uruzgan province today, forces searched a village known to be a staging area for enemy fighters, recovering 150 pounds of black tar opium, 25 gallons of homemade explosives, several weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. They also found bomb-making materials, including 250 pounds of ammonium nitrate, pressure plates and detonators.

The caches were stored in several false floors and hidden compartments in walls were discovered.

The operations were part of the forces’ increased patrols in southern Afghanistan to prevent attacks against the country’s infrastructure and citizens, officials said.

In other Afghan news, coalition forces detained four suspected militants during an overnight mission in Paktia province to disrupt the Haqqani terrorist network in eastern Afghanistan.

The four suspects were detained in a rural compound near the Salman Kheyl village, about 30 miles west of Khost.

The Haqqani network is one of the most lethal Taliban groups operating out of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Area, officials said.

In operations yesterday, forces discovered an explosive-rigged motorcycle and detained two enemy fighters in Uruzgan province.

Forces were searching a militant compound when they found bomb-making materials and a motorcycle rigged with a 107 mm rocket. The bomb was destroyed in place.